Shower head



March 17, 1959' w. c. ERWIN SHOWER HEAD Filed June 12, 1956 IN VEN TOR.

WEI-DON C. ERWIN BY a 44%) ATTORNEYS United States PatentO SHOWER HEAD Weldon 'C. Erwin, Southgate, Calif. Application June 12, 1956, Serial No. 590,972

3 Claims. (Cl. 299-141) However, neither the conventional head nor the adjustable port type of shower head includes means for effecting the creation of an intermittent spray flow.

An intermittent spray flow is particularly desirable for'that class of persons who may be subjected to muscular aches and pains or other bodily discomforts resulting from tense muscles, or high blood pressure. Thus,

from the standpoint of hydrotherapy, it would be advantageous to provide a shower head which would be efiective to cause a relatively high velocity, intermittent spray of water which would stimulate blood circulation and relax the muscles, particularly in the regions of the upper back and neck. Shower heads which have been designed with this purpose in mind have not met with commercial success since they oftentimes cause a spray which tends to sting rather than soothe the muscle areas.

In addition, such prior shower heads have not been adaptable to economical production methods and would require extensive maintenance and replacement of parts to keep them in a satisfactory operating condition.

' A further problem is designing an intermittent spray type of shower head is associated with the objective of avoiding irritating noise such as oftentimes results from a rotating member and which is usually characterized by a shrill, whirling sound.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved shower head adapted for hydrotherapy purposes which will create an intermittent spray of water that is effective to soothe tense muscles and stimulate blood circulation in the body of the user, and yet which is relatively noiseless in its operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a shower head suitable for hydrotherapy purposes which may be economically manufactured, and which is susceptible of limited maintenance without the necessity of replacing any parts over an extended period of time.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a shower head which may be readily assembled and disassembled by an unskilled operator.

These and other objects and advantages .of the present invention are generally attained by providing a shower head including a body member provided with an inner cylindrical passage to accommodate the flow of water. A bushingis co-axially disposed within the passage and supported therein, the bushing being provided with a nozzle portion having a plurality of circumferentially spaced-ports extending angularly through its side walls.

v 2,878,066 Patented Mar. 17, 1959 axially therefrom upwardly within the passage of thebody member. A turbine wheel is journaled on the upper end of the pin and is dimensioned and axially disposed so as to be concentrically positioned between;

the inner side walls of the body member and the nozzle portion of the bushing. A valve means is coupled tov the turbine wheel and is disposed adjacent the spray disc, whereby upon rotation of the turbine wheel the valve means will successively offer resistance to water fiow through different portions of the spray disc. An important feature of the present invention resides in the fact that the valve means is designed such that it never entirely closes off any particular area of the spray disc, but merely eifects a resistance to flow therethrough.

A better understanding of the present invention will be had by reference to the accompanying drawings, illus-' trating a preferred embodiment, in which:

Figure l is a view of the shower head of the present invention coupled to a water pipe;

Figure 2 is an exploded view of the shower head of Figure 1 showing the various component parts in perspective;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view of the bushing in Figure 2 taken in the direction of the arrows 3--3;

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view of the rotating member in Figure 2 taken in the direction of the arrows 4-4; and I Figure 5 is a plan view of a governing means useful for controlling operation of the shower head.

Referring now to the drawings there is shown in Figure 1 a shower head 10 according to the present in.- vention in threaded connection with a conventional water outlet pipe 11. The shower head 10 includes a hollow body member 12 provided on its bottom end with a retainer cap 13 and on its upper end with a retainer cap 14.

The inner structure and operation of the shower head may be more clearly described by reference to Figure 2. As shown therein, the retainer cap 13 is provided with inner threading 15 and a lower flange 16 extending radially inward from its bottom end. .The cap 13 is adapted to receive on its flange 16 an apertured disc 17 having a recessed shoulder 18 to accommodate a'rubber washer 19. The disc 17 is provided with a plurality of outlet apertures 20 designed to create a desired spray flow, and additionally includes an axially extending hearing pin 21 having an upper bearing surface 22.

A rotating member 23 is designed to be received on the bearing pin 21 and includes valve means in the form of sectoral blades 24 radially supported from a cylindrical portion 25. The upper end of the cylindrical portion 25 terminates in an increased diameter turbine wheel 26 provided with blades 27. As more clearly shownin Figure 4 the cylindrical portion 25 is internally threaded at 28 to accommodate a valve adjusting means in the form of an Allen head screw 29 having a lower conical bearing surface 29' adapted to rotate on the bearing surface 22 of the pin 21. With such a construction, it will be appreciated that the screw 29 may be lowered or raised within the cylindrical portion 25 to in turn effect a lowering or raising of the sectoral blades 24 with respect to the apertured disc 17.

The body member 10 includes a threaded base 30 adapted to receive the retainer cap 15. The base 30 integrally connects through a truncated portion to a tubular section 32, which is provided with an external thread 33 to receive the upper retaining cap 14. The tubular portion 32 includes an inner decreaseddiameter section 34 defining a lower annular shoulder 35 and an upper annular shoulder 36.

The upper shoulder 36 is dimensioned to support a bushing 37, the latter being provided for this purpose with a flange 38 on its upper end of a diameter such that it is adapted for positioning on the shoulder 36. The bushing 37 includes a cuplike section 39 dimensioned to be axially disposed within the decreased diameter section 34, and a nozzle portion 40 adapted to extend immediately below the decreased diameter section 34 within the body member 12. As more clearly shown in the view of Figure 3, the nozzle portion 40 is provided with a plurality of ports 41 extending angularly through its sidewalls. The ports 41 are angled in an opposite direction from the blades 27 with respect to the axis of the shower head 10, whereby water passing through the ports 41 and impinging upon the blades 27 will cause the turbine'wheel 26 to rotate.

In Figure 2, immediately above the bushing 37, there is shown a thimble-like screen 42 provided with an upper flange 43 dimensioned to be received on the flange 38 of the bushing 37 and to be supported thereon. In turn, a rubber washer 44 may be mounted on top of the screen flange 43.

A swivel fitting 45, shown above the washer 44, is provided with a ball 46 adapted for frictional contact with the washer 44. The ball 46 has integrally connected thereto a sleeve 47 which is internally threaded at 48 and provided with an inner passage 49 extending down through the ball 46 to communicate with the interior portion of the body member 12.

The swivel fitting 45 is held in contact with the washer 44 through the provision of cap 14, as more clearly shown in Figure 1. The cap 14 is provided with an upper flange 50 and internal threading, whereby it may be received on the external threading 33 of the tubular section 32 of the body member 12.

The assembly and disassembly of the shower head is relatively simple. Referring to Figure 2, the washer 19 is first mounted on the shoulder 18 of the disc 17. The disc 17 is then mounted on the flange 16 of the cap 13. Thereafter, the rotating member 23 is placed on the bearing pin 21 so that contact is made between the bearing surface 22 and bearing surface 29'. This subassembly is then mounted within the body member 12 and the cap 13 is screwed onto the threading of the base 30 of the body member. The rotating member 23 is dimensioned such that the turbine wheel 26 will extend axially to a point immediately below the lower annular shoulder 35 within the body member 12.

After this operation is completed, the bushing 37 is merely placed in position within the body member 12 so that its flange 38 rests on the upper annular shoulder 36. The bushing 37 is dimensioned such that its nozzle portion 40 will be concentrically disposed Within the turbine wheel 26, whereby water passing through the ports 41 will impinge upon the blades 27. The remainder of the assembly of the shower head 10 merely involves placing the screen 42 and washer 44 in position over the flange 38, and thereafter bringing the swivel fitting 45 into contact with the washer 44 as previously explained by tightening the cap 14 down onto the threads 33.

In operation, water will pass down through the swivel fitting 45 and thereafter through the screen 42, which is adapted to remove sediment and other foreign matter which might be detrimental to the components of the shower head. After passing through the screen 42 the water will come in contact with the screw 29 and be forced outwardly through the ports 41 of the bushing 37 to in turn impinge against the concentrically disposed blades 27 of the wheel 26. This radial flow will effect rotation of the rotating member 23 to in turn effect movement of the sectoral blades 24 over the apertures 20 of the disc 17.

In a preferred construction, the sectoral blades 24 are shaped so as to each cover approximately one-fourth of the area of the disc 17 and correspondingly close off about one-half of the apertures 20 extending therethrough. It should be noted, however, that the blades 24 are spaced a slight axial distanEe above the disc 17, which may be varied (as heretofore explained) by threading or unthreading of the screw 29 within the cylindrical portion 25. It has been found that by varying the spacing of the blades 24 above the disc 27 that the quality of the spray and particularly its stinging characteristic may be correspondingly varied. The softness of the spray may thus be controlled to accommodate the desires of the particular user by adjusting the particular position of the screw 29. It will also be appreciated that when any wear occurs between the bearing surfaces 22 and the bearing surface 29, a similar adjustment can be made with the screw 29 to compensate for such wear.

Although the shower head 10 works satisfactorily with most normal water pressures, for universal application it may be desirable to include a spring type governing means. As shown in Figure 5, this governing means may take the form of a pair of arcuate spring members 51 and 52, each having one of their ends secured as at 53 and 54, respectively, to the cylindrical portion 25 of the rotating member 23. With such a construction, regardless of the pressure of the water being used, the spring members 51 and 52 by their movement outwardly from the cylindrical portion 25 in response to centrifugal force, will effect a stabilizing of the rotational speed according to the desired characteristics of the intermittent spray being emitted from the apertures 20. Thus, upon rotation of the member 23 in the direction of the arrow, the springs 51 and 52 will be forced radially outward into the path of water flow to in turn create additional resistance to the rotational force. In this regard, it has been found from the standpoint of effective hydrotherapy that the spray be in the form of slugs of water about one inch long and spaced about one inch apart. Of course, individual preferences will vary and the screw 29 may be correspondingly adjusted, or if necessary, different tensioned springs may be used.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the shower head of the present invention is simply constructed, easily adjusted, and does not require any appreciable maintenance. In addition, it is noiseless and may be readily assembled or disassembled by an unskilled person.

Although the shower head invention has been described in a preferred embodiment, it will be appreciated that many alterations or modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and that the invention is therefore not to be thought of as limited to the structural details shown and described for illustrative purposes.

What is claimed is: I

1. In a shower head, the combination comprising: a body member having an inner cylindrical passage; a bushing co-axially disposed within said passage and having a plurality of circumferentially spaced ports extending angularly in one direction through its side walls; an apertured spray disc secured to the lower end of said body member; a pin extending upwardlyv from said disc within said body member, said pin having a conical end bearing surface; a rotating member axially supported by said pin, said rotating member including a turbine wheel concentrically disposed between said spaced ports and said body member, said turbine wheel including blades angled in an opposite direction to said spaced ports; and valve means coupled to said rotating member to successively offer resistance to water flow through difierent portions of said disc.

2. In a shower head, the combination comprising: a body member having an inner cylindrical passage; an apertured spray disc secured to the lower end of said body member; a rotating member co-axially disposed within said passage and journaled therein; valve means coupled to said rotating member to successively otter 5 resistance to water flow through different portions of said spray disc; and, governing means comprising a pair of arcuate spring members each, respectively, having one end attached to said rotating member, said spring members being normally biased towards the periphery of said rotating member.

3. In a shower head, the combination comprising: a body member having an inner cylindrical passage; a bushing co-axially disposed within said passage and having a plurality of circumferentially spaced ports extending angularly through its sidewalls; an apertured spray disc secured to the lower end of said body member; a pin extending upwardly from said disc within said body member; a rotating member journaled and axially supported by said pin, said rotating member including a turbine wheel concentrically disposed between said spaced ports and said body member; valve means comprising at least one sectoral blade radially supported a bearing surface on its lower end in journaled relationship with said pin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,101,804 Lauter June 30, 1914 1,609,047 Beale Nov. 30, 1926 2,304,616 Watson Dec. 8, 1942 2,699,773 Nemeth Jan. 18, 1955 2,701,563 Fortin Feb. 8, 1955 

